Friday, 3 June 2011

Abdul Halim Hafez - Live at the Royal Albert Hall

Abdel Halim Hafez was, alongside Oum Kalsoum, one of Egypt and the Arabic speaking world's most popular singers. Here's what the liner notes have to say about his 1967 performance at the Royal Albert Hall:

"For the first time in the long history of the Royal Albert Hall, this great and world famous auditorium was transformed for one evening in November 1967 into something resembling the palace of a great Caliph in the golden age of the Arab empire. It was filled to capacity with an audience of Arabs and thier friends of various nationalities, all of whom have a tremendous affection for the popular singing star of the Middle East - Abdul Halim Hafez"

The audience response on this album is rapturous, Abdel walks on the stage and the crowd go wild, it really is something special to hear. The music is often solemn and gentle in pace but its a beautiful melencholy sound which complements the singer's powerful voice perfectly.

Snap, Crackle & Pop

The music is, of course, for evaluation purposes only. If you like what you hear then go out and try and buy stuff...or something, give money to a down on his luck musician, or sponsor a good busker, it may be the start of something beautiful.

If any of the zips die, then post a comment and i'll try to repost. And leave comments, abuse, name calling, any response is welcome.

I think all of the albums posted are currently unavailable, but if this is not the case we'll remove the offending files.